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Access and mobility are important dimensions of quality of life. For wheelchair users, everyday trips are often fraught with problems, with many barriers imperceptible to the able-bodied, hindering or totally restricting movement. This paper describes a project undertaken with wheelchair users, which has developed, tested and applied a Geographic Information System model. This model acts both as a navigational device for wheelchairs users -enabling them to make informed route choices through urban places -and as a decision support and planning tool for urban planners -making visible the ways in which built environments are often distorted and hostile spaces for wheelchair users.

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Example citation: Sánchez Crespo, R., Kaczmarczyk, S., Picton, P. and Su, H. (2018) Modelling and simulation of a stationary high-rise elevator system to predict the dynamic interactions between its components. International Journal of Mechanical Sciences. 137, It is advisable to refer to the publisher's version if you intend to cite from this work. In a high-rise elevator system lateral vibrations of the suspension and compensating ropes, coupled with vertical motions of the car and counterweight are induced by the building structure motions. When the frequency of the building coincides with the fundamental natural frequency of the ropes, large resonance whirling motions of the ropes result. This phenomenon leads to impacts of the ropes on the elevator walls, large displacements of the car and counterweight making the building and elevator system unsafe. This paper presents a comprehensive mathematical model of a high-rise elevator system taking into account the combined lateral stiffness of the roller guides and guide rails. The results and analysis presented in the paper demonstrate frequency curve veering phenomena and a wide range of resonances that occur in the system. A case study is presented when the car is parked at a landing level where the fundamental natural frequencies of the car, suspension and compensating rope system coincide with one of the natural frequencies of the high-rise building. The results show a range of nonlinear dynamic interactions between the components of the elevator system that play a significant role in the operation of the entire installation.Crown